Stencil for the production of composite ornamentations on embroidery machines



April 14, 1931.

STENCIL G. ZELLWEGER FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOSITE ORNAMENTATIONS ONEMBROIDERY MACHINES Filed March 29, 1928 Mumm 4 4' 66%. A TTOR/VEKSJPatented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUSTAV ZELLWEGER, 0FGRANTWOOD, NEW JERSEY, AQQIGIQORTO GRAB GOL, 0F UNION CITY, NEWJERSEY, APARTNERSHIP CONSISTING 0J1 ALBERT GRAB AND GUSTAV ZELLWEGER STENCIL FORTHE PRODUCTION OF COMPOSITE OIRNAMENTATIONS ON EMIBROIDERY MACHINESApplication filed March 2a, 1928. Serial No. 265,564.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of decorating fabrics,and has particular reference to a stencil for producing a compositecolor and embroldery ornamentation on fabrics.

In the production of this type of fabric, it has been customary toperform the coloring and embroidery operations successively and-one ofthe principal problems encountered has been to secure accurateregistration of the color pattern with the has-relief embroideryornamentation so that the latter, which is preferably applied to thefabric subsequent tothe coloring thereof, willnot overlap any portion ofthe color pattern.

One method heretofore employed for producing this compositeornamentation makes use of a pantograph embroidering machine for forminga stencil which is subsequently utilized to paint the color pattern onthe fabric. Briefly, in this methoda blank stencil is temporarilyaflixed t0 the fabric and the ornamentation is delineated thereon, afterwhich the stencil is removed, the delineated design cut out, andthestencil then relocated at its original position on the fabstencil,and finally embroidering the outline originally produced.

It is known that with the methods just re ferred to, accurateregistration of the two ornamentations has been very diflicult ofattainment and the embroidery has often overlapped the color design.This is primarily due to the complicated manner in which the stencilsaremade and the'inability to always relocate the stencils in properposition on the fabric prior to the coloring operations.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the difficultiesencountered in the useof known methods by materially simplifying themaking of the stencil and in supporting the same in position withrespect to the fabric'in such manner that the color.

pattern produced thereby will be accurately located on the fabric so asto properly register with the embroidered ornamentation.

Another object is to provide a stencil adaptedfor the application to afabric of a color pattern constituting a part of a conn positeornamentation .and to form in said stencil a recess or recesses forreceiving one or more needles of an embroidery machine, with one of saidrecesses disposed below the ornamentation on. the stencil in verticalalignment with a predetermined point thereon which coincides with asimilar point'on the fabric to be decorated.

Another Object is to so construct the stencil that the needles of anembroidery machine may be utilized in properly lobating the stencirelative to the fabric to be colored, and the presser member of saidmachine employed to retain the stencil in position during the coloringoperation.

Another object is to support'and reinforce the stencil so that it willlie flatly and rigidly against the fabric while thecolor is beingapplied thereto.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the followingdetailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawing I Figure 1 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view in verticalsection of an embroidery ma chine which may be used in carrying out thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the completed fabric with thestencil indicated in broken lines in the position thereon which it wouldbe made to assume when applying the color pattern; t

Figure 3 is a plan view of the stencil; and

Figure 4:. isa fragmentary vertical section on the line ll of Figure 3with the presser member and associated parts of an embroidery machine inposition to hold the stencil in place.

In Figure 1 there is illustrated a portion of an embroidery machine of awell known construction in which the Vertical embroidthe frame on therollers and 11.

ery frame 5 is movable relative to the needle bar 6 in vertical,horizontal and diagonal directions under the control of an automaticjacquard mechanism (not shown), whereby each of the various needles ofthe machine, one of which is shown at7, is operated by the horizontalreciprocation of the needle bar relative to the shuttle bar 8 to form anembroidered design in the fabric 9 supported in well known inmachines ofthis type, the

- various movements of the frame: 5, and consequently of the fabric 9,relative to theneedles 7, are controlled by a mechanism which is set inaccordance with the particular design being made. It is to beunderstoodthat in so far as the present invention is concerned, this automaticcontrol mechanism may be of the jacquard typeor any other form ofmechanism, such as the pantograph.

In the productionof composite ornamentations, such as embroideryandcolor patterns, it is proposed by the present invention to employ'astencil 10 for the application of the color design to the fabric bysupportin said stencil upon the needles 7 in fixed relation to thefabric and lying snugly against the same during the application of thecolor thereto, In order to accomplish this, it is quite desirable,though not absolutely necessary, that the color work be done before theembroidery, since the latter is a has-relief ornamentation and if madefirst might prevent the stencil from engaging the fabric in the propermanl as ner. Furthermore, it is proposed to utilize the presser memberllof the machine to aid in retaining the'stencil in proper positionagainst the fabric, This presser member, as is well known, comprisesanumber of fingers or arms 12, which, in the ordinary operation of themachine, engage the fabric in proX- imity to the needles 7 so asto holdthe fabric against excessive outward movement when the needles 7 arewithdrawn after making a stitch. In placing the stencil in position, thepresser member is firstmoved outwardly a slight distance equal to thethickness of the stenciland then the lower edge of the latter isinserted between the fingers 12 and the fabric, with said lower edgerestinglupon a needle or needles 7 The presser fingers will then engageand assist in supporting the stencll in a vertical position against thefabric.

In preparing the stencil, the composite design which is later to beapplied to the fabric a. is first, sketched upon a sheet of paperusuallyemployed for this purpose. The design so sketched 1s a complete motif orrepeat and ,it is now necessary to determine a point relative to theembroidery part of the ornamentation which may bem'ade to. coincide witha point on the fabric at which the needlewhich is to stitch the patternwill commence its operation after the color design has been applied. Forconvenience, the point on the sketch paper may be located in a verticalline mined distance below. the lowest extremity of the composite designa horizontal line is a drawn which will intersect said mean verticalline, The distance of the horizontal line from the pattern may be fourinches, for in stance, and represents the amount of upward Verticalmovement which it is necessary to impart to the fabric prior to thecoloring operation and said horizontal line determines the lower edge ofthe stencil which is -mad e' from the sketch. f 1

, Itnow becomes necessary to transfer the design on the sketch to ablank stencil. 2 To do this, 'the'stencil sheet may beprovided with avertical line such as the line 12f placed in a position which isdetermined by thenaturej of the design to be transferred thereto and thetracing paper upon which said sketch is.

made is then reversed and laid upon the blank stencil with the meanvertical line'on saidsketchcoinciding with the vertical line which hasbeen made upon the blank stencil andt-he horizontalline on said sketchregistering with the bottom edge of the stencil blank. By rubbing uponthe reverse or uppermostside of the sketch paper, the design, which l1asbeenmade thereon with softpencil or crayon,;1nay betranfsferred to the;

stencil blank and at the same time the .point of intersection of themean verticalline and the horizontal line on the sketch will also be 7indicated on the lower edge of said blank. -A recess or notch 13 is nowformed-at said point on the lower edge of the stencil to receive theneedle 7 :which' is to make the. embroidery portion of the motifrepresented by said stencil when the latter is placed in the positionshown in-Figurel. In order to further assist in maintaining the stencilin proper v operative position, the lower edge thereof may also beformed wth one or more recesses 14 similar to-the recess 13, and-:eachof the. recesses, llis spaced fromthe re'cess13 a distance equal to thatbetween the needle 7 enf gaged in the latter recess and the nextadjacent needles so that said recess or recesses 14 will receive thenext adjacent needle orneedles on the needle bar. i It is conceivablethat instead of may be obtained inits completed form, that is with thepattern already cut out, A point on the lower edge of the stencil maythenbe g 7 making the stencil as above described, the stencil sheetanemone It is preferable that the lower edge of the stencil bereinforced so that repeated mountings of the stencil upon the needleswill not wear away the material of the stencil forming the edges of saidrecesses, thereby avoiding the possibility, after repeated use, of thecolor pattern being inaccurately applied to the fabric. For thispurpose, a metallic strip 15 is applied to the lower edge of the stenciland formed with notches or recesses therein coinciding with the recesses13 and 14. The stencil is further preferably provided with a supportingframe consisting of horizontal and vertical strips 16 and 17 to whichthe stencil is secured, said strips being arranged inwardly of themarginal edges of the stencil, with the ends of the vertical strips 17,and particularly the lower ends thereof, extending practically to theupper and lower edges of the stencil. l Vith the stencil attached tothis frame the same will have sufficient rigidity imparted thereto toprevent it from bending when being applied and held in proper position011 the fabric. The extension of the lower ends of the vertical strips17 to overlapping position relative to the metallic strip 15 will avoidany bending of the lower por tion of the stencil when said metallicstrip is inserted into the space between the fabric and the fingers 12.

After the stencil has been made as above described, the fabric is placedupon the rollers 10 and 11 and the automatic control mechanism of theembroidery machine is prepared or set in accordance with the embroiderydesign so as to control the movements of the frame 5 in predetermineddirections during the course of the embroidery opera tion. The fabric isadjusted relative to the needle bar so that a predetermined point on thefabric which corresponds to the starting point of the embroideryoperation is horizontally aligned with the particular needle that is toperform the stitching of one motif. The fabric is now moved upwardlyunder the influence of the previously-mentioned control mechanism adistance equal to the space between the lower edge of the stencil andthe lower extremity of the composite ornamentation, which space, forexample, has hereinbefore been given as four inches. During thismovement, the frame 5 and fabric may, in accordance with the setting ofthe control mechanism, be moved in any one or all of the directions ofwhich the frame is capable so that it is possible that when the framereaches its final position, the starting point on the fabric for theembroidery pattern will be vertically offset relative to the originalposition of said point. The movement of the fabric above describedbrings it into proper position to have the color portion of theornamentation applied and the stencil is now placed in position aspreviously described. After application of the color, the fabric ismoved ina reversev direction from that originall imparted: thereto: toagain: bring the pre etermined starting point of the embroidery workinto alignmentwith the needle? which is to perform. 1 said :work. Thestencil isremoved andthemachihtzstarted to accomplish the regular.embroidery operation and, in so doing, the pattern produced by. thelatter operation will exactly register'with the color.nattern'previously applied to the fabric.

lVhat is claimed is:

1i .AJL stencil for use: with embroidery machines, including a stencilsheet having an ornamental pattern for fabrics thereon and having arecess formed therein adjacent to the bottom edge thereof for receivinga needle of the machine to support said stencil in position relative toa fabric to be colored to orient said stencil with respect to saidfabric.

2. A stencil for use with embroidery machines, including a stencil sheethaving an ornamental pattern for fabrics thereon and having a recessformed therein adjacent to the bottom edge thereof for receiving aneedle of the machine to support said stencil in position relative to afabric to be colored to orient said stencil with respect to said fabrlc,and a supporting frame to which the stencil sheet is attached.

3. A stencil for use with embroidery machines, including a stencil sheethaving an ornamental pattern for fabrics thereon and having a recessformed therein adjacent to the bottom edge thereof for receiving aneedle of the machine tosupport said stencil in position relative to afabric to be colored to orient said stencil with respect to said fabric,and a supporting frame for said stencil sheet including strips securedto said sheet at points inwardly of the edges thereof.

4. A stencil for use with embroidery machines, including a stencil sheethaving an ornamental pattern for fabrics thereon and having a recessformed at the lower edge of said sheet for receiving a needle of themachine to support the stencil in position relative to the fabric to becolored to orient said stencil with respect to said fabric, and asupporting frame for said sheet including strips secured theretoinwardly of its edges, certain of said strips extending to the edge ofthe sheet having said recess therein.

5. A stencil for use with embroidery machines, including a stencil sheethaving an ornamental pattern for fabrics thereon, and a reinforcingstrip along the lower edge of said sheet and having a recessformedtherein for receiving a needle of the machine whereby the stencilis supported in position relative to the fabric to be colored to orientsaid stencil with respect to said fabric.

6. A stencil for use with embroidery machines, including a stencil sheethaving an ornamental pattern for fabrics thereon, a reinforcing stripalong the lower edge of said sheetand having a recess formed therein forreceiving a needle of the machine whereby thestencil is supported inposition relative to the fabric to be colored to orient said sten:

cil with respect to said'fabric, anda' supporting frame .for said sheetincluding strips secured thereto inwardly of its edges, certain of saidstrips extending to said reinforcing V strip. 1 V a 1 i l. J

In testimonywhereof I have afiixed my signature.

GUSTAV-ZELLWEGER.

